Diego Lugano

Diego Lugano

• Lugano won the Uruguayan championship with Nacional as a teenager before establishing himself as one of South America's most promising young defenders with São Paulo.

• Spent four years with the Brazilian club, peaking in 2005 when he helped them to a treble of Campeanato Paulista, Copa Libertadores and FIFA Club World Cup in Tokyo, where they defeated Liverpool FC 1-0 in the final.

• Left for Europe in 2006, joining Fenerbahçe on a four-year contract, and won the Turkish title in his first season before helping the Istanbul outfit into a club-best UEFA Champions League quarter-final in his second – both under Brazilian coach Zico.

• First capped by Uruguay on 4 February 2003, he became a regular during the qualifying campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup and helped La Celeste to the 2007 Copa América semi-finals.

• Captained Uruguay to the 2010 World Cup semi-finals, starting six of the seven games but missing the last-four defeat by the Netherlands through injury; won his 50th cap in October 2010 in a 7-1 friendly victory in Indonesia.

• Moved to France to join Paris Saint-Germain FC in the summer of 2011 after lifting the Copa América with Uruguay, but made just 12 appearances as the side finished second in the league before being loaned to Málaga CF in January 2013.

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